Mad Moon
by D.c-666
Summary: Before The Southern Raiders. Was there a more plausible reason why women in the Northern Tribes excelled at healing and why they were only allowed to heal?
1. Rogue Wave

Mad Moon

This takes place during the Boiling Rock and The Southern Raiders. I've always liked the character Katara, even when people said she was going through her "crazy bitch" stages. So I thought I would write a little tidbit of what I thought was going through her mind and made her act the way she does. WARNING- Some of the characters may seem OOC. This was just another perspective. Also possibility of spoilers for 'Fatal Mercy'(will be more if there are other chapters). Katara reflects on bending, Aang, and what the war has done to her family.

First chapter goes during the Boiling Rock for the "Katara scene" and before the Southern Raiders episode for the "Zuko scene".

Yet again, this is a semi dark fic..

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Rogue wave

_n._

An unpredictable, abnormally large wave that occurs on a seemingly random basis in the oceans.

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Mad Moon

There are some things in this world you can't change, that is something I thought I had learned a long time ago. But it seems now that I am constantly suffering from my unwillingness to accept this well known fact of life. When this whole expedition started I had so much hope and I believed that I was strong enough to face anything. I know better now that I was merely a child trying to be an adult; trying to atone for my mistakes. Or should I just say my one mistake that cost my family everything. I've had to learn to accept things and adapt for that is my nature. Like water constantly changing and moving. I've had to look inside myself and see the monster that hides within, it still stalks through the corners of every thought. I can clearly say that through my journeys with the Avatar I have learned a great deal about the world and myself…and I don't like what I see inside of me. But I can't ignore it anymore. I can't ignore this beast that has grown stronger over the years.

With Sokka and Zuko gone on their little hunting trip there hasn't been much left to do around here. Not that there was much before, but now I find myself mainly alone. The others have found other ways of entertaining themselves. They do a various amount of things, from training to the most trivial of things. But they deserve this break from reality. After all we are all still children in some sense of the word. They deserve to have fun and relax. All we really are is children trying to full fill the role of adults. This war is like a poison, or maybe an acid. Slowly it is burning away what is left of our childhood. For there is no room for the innocent in this war. To be innocent is to be vulnerable. To be vulnerable is to be weak and to be weak is to fail.

I have failed many times in this war.

The full moon is coming and with it comes unwanted memories and powers. Even now I can feel the pull. Not of the ocean or rivers… but of their blood. It is a small ache in the back of my head that is a constant reminder of the power I could wield; if I was ambitious enough. If properly…practiced I wouldn't need the full moon anymore. I know what Hama said but at the same time I know what I feel day in and day out. It calls to me at all times of the day and I have been tempted. All it takes is the glance of Aang's scar or the looks that cross my brother's face when he stares at the moon. I have tried to think of the good that could be done with blood bending for healing. The only way to practice that is to have patients, which luckily I haven't run across. And there is always the thought of miscalculating and causing more harm than good. I don't think I have the strength to try it out on my friends…

I want to say that I am ashamed to admit the fact that I've blood bent more than just once. I have done it on accident. I would merely be training and I would lose myself to the sensations of my element. Push and Pull. Give and Take. Tui and La. So lost in my training I would not notice the creatures around me bending and twisting to my will. Only when I hear their screeches of protest do I snap out of my trances. It is alluring this power I hold in my hands. Blood is the water of life and no mere person should be given the ability to manipulate it, even those with the purest of hearts. I will never teach Aang this great and wicked bending form. He already suffers enough from the great expectations placed on him by others. When I first met Aang I too placed too many responsibilities on his shoulders. Now I know better. In my mind Aang is still a child, even though I am only a couple years older than him. I can't stand the thought of having to watch him suffer from this sadistic gift.

Am I selfish for not teaching the Avatar this style which could give him the upper hand? Am I a coward for not wanting to practice this technique out of fear of becoming a more vicious monster than Hama? Wouldn't it be worse if I knew of the injustices of this bending technique but thought my cause made it okay to use? Hama was a monster in the fact that she never thought what she was doing was wrong. For me it is different. I know and fear the wrongs of this bending style. Would I too become a monster if I accepted these wrongs and merely came up with excuses as to why I would use this tempting power? Completely justified I would go into each battle and merely rip the blood from my opponents' bodies. I could become unstoppable. I would lose all my humanity. People would no longer become entities but objects that I had the power to manipulate.

Is this what Aang fears about the Avatar state? The raw power of controlling all the elements at once, having a defense and attack for each strike sent against you. Is it fair that we ask one person to hold this one power and be forced to keep the balance? For every right move or decision he is praised and for every wrong he is scorned. He suffers from the path destiny has set for him but only he is strong enough to face it…

For now I will not bother Aang with this blood bending technique. I can't ask anymore of him. I will protect him the only way I know how. But letting him keep a hold of his innocence (or what is left of it) for a little while longer. Let him master all the elements before he learns of the darker sides of bending. He has already suffered from lightening, let me give him this one gift of not knowing how to hold a life in his own hands and know how to rip it away. When the final battle comes he will have to destroy Ozai if this world is to know peace. Let him simply end Ozai's life. Put an end to this horrible nightmare.

I am surprised that Aang has not been around me lately, but it is a welcomed surprise. I need this time alone to center my thoughts and feelings. Being alone in my thoughts let's me examine a most despised secret. I have blood bended on purpose.

It has happened only a few times and the rush I felt afterwards had left me breathless. It was hard but that was half the allure to it. To push myself and see the rewards of my hard labor brought. In my arrogance, I thought what I was doing was a great deed. I could use my gift to help Aang. I would be different then Hama, I simply needed to learn control. When I managed to kill one bird and paralyze another, at the same time, I stopped. It had started out as me trying to help the two little birds and had ended with me destroying both their lives.

Sometimes I wish I had never met Hama.

I had thought the bird accident had reinforced the idea that it was not wise to play with my blood bending skills anymore. But the full moon is coming and the urge is becoming strong again. It doesn't help that I can't seem to control my anger any more. At first it started out as small outbursts that the others took as me going into mother mode. But after Zuko's arrival and acceptance into the group that little irritation turned into full hostility. Zuko's past record with me has never been a good one. I might have been harsh with him at first and steadily going downhill from there but I can't accept him. Once upon a time it might have been easier. Before the eclipse, before Aang's scar, before the battle between me and him I probably could have forgiven him. I had given him some of my trust in that crystal cave. But back then he choose his sister and in doing so gave her the upper hand in defeating Aang. He might not has been the one to strike him down but he wasn't trying to save Aang at the time either.

Aang had been so beautiful in those few minutes he went into the Avatar state on his own. This is what I had believed in and protected. Aang was fulfilling his destiny and accepting all that he was. So enticed in this amazing site that time had stopped. All of us were left breathless, well all of us except Azula. In his moment of grace and maturity was when I failed Aang. He had needed time and I had merely been swept away by his display. I had felt so proud and happy for Aang. In those brief few seconds Aang had become one with everything. I could feel it in the water I had been bending and I sure the Dai Lee had felt it in the earth. The Avatar was about balance and we had all felt it radiate off of him in waves. That brief moment of peace had been destroyed by Azula. As Aang fell to his death I could feel and see nothing but him. I moved on instinct as I washed away my enemies.

I held him in my arms like he was a piece of glass. Through tear stained eyes I had looked up as Azula and her drones came closer. Hopelessness passed through my heart. Aang was hurt and there was nothing I could do to protect him. Zuko's uncle saved us and for that I will forever been in his debt.

While on Appa's back thoughts raced across my mind. I had failed in protecting Aang. I had let my guard down because I thought I could trust a firebender and not just any firebender. But the one who had chased Aang half way across the earth. Aang was dying and I was at fault. Blaming my-self made it easy to blame Zuko. If Zuko had been on our side maybe Aang wouldn't have a scar on his back. Maybe Azula would be dead. If Zuko hadn't of stopped me maybe I could of defeated Azula.

The point was that I made a mistake and I'm not ready to make it again. He says he's here to help Aang. Fine. He says he's changed. Fine. Can I pretend that you're part of the group and that I forgive you? No. Saying you forgive but don't forget is like saying you didn't forgive them. Not being able to let go of the past is not being able to forgive. In the back of your mind you will always doubt them. I suppose that isn't a problem for me. I haven't forgiven Zuko. I'm not going to hide my doubt for him. He wants to be truthful then I will be.

I can't stand how kind he can be to Toph. I can't stand it when he offers to do chores the others always seem to try so hard to avoid. I can't stand how he is slowly getting closer to the group. Everybody is opening up to him and slowly adapting to him being in our lives. A part of me is warming up to him. A younger part of me sees the good in him and believes in him. I see his scar and think back to our brief time in the cave. He seemed so young and as lost as me. We were connected by the loss of our mothers, if only briefly.

Sometimes seeing the good in a person isn't enough. Right now it can't be enough. I almost lost Aang once and I won't let another firebender take something precious away from me ever again. Even if said firebender shows the best of intentions. Maybe it is wrong that I won't forgive Zuko and I will seem petty for my actions. I acknowledge this with a full and heavy heart.

The full moon is fast approaching.

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Sokka can only smile at the almost full moon. It is a sad and pained smile. It is the first thing Zuko notices when he spots Sokka. Sokka is silently sitting on the grass just gazing up at the stars. Though Sokka seems to be in deep thought there is something he feels that he needs to discuss with Sokka. When he had first went searching for Katara's brother Zuko had been determined to talk to him. Zuko briefly remembers the small conversation they had on the way to the boiling rock. Maybe now is not the best time to talk to Sokka. Before Zuko can make his way back to his tent Sokka calls out to him. His voice is soft as if he were whispering.

"Nice night." It is a simple sentence but it is the opening that Zuko is looking for. Slowly Zuko makes his way towards Sokka and simply joins him in his star gazing. Zuko only responds with a slight nod. Minutes pass and both boys just try to enjoy the peace of the comforting night.

"So… what did you want to talk about?" Zuko's mouth curves slightly at the bluntness of Sokka's question.

"Is… do you…" At a loss of words Zuko merely sighs and tries again. "Sokka, is there any way your sister could ever forgive me?" Zuko is only answered with silence.

Until Sokka lets out an obnoxious snort, and falls back onto the grass. So Zuko had finally decided to try and directly solve the growing problem that his sister was creating. Sokka couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy; his sister was very much like her element. One moment Katara was like the peaceful steady stream that never went off course. She was reliable and gentle. The next moment she was as cold and unforgiving as the ocean. So much strength and power resided behind his baby sister's eyes. Wave after wave she would come at you, until she had finally destroyed your defenses. Katara normally had a nice balance of the emotions her element defined, but recently… ever since Hama… things had started to change. Katara had tried to hide it, but she couldn't fool him. There was so much fear hiding behind his sister's anger. When had Katara changed from the firm current that kept everyone on track to a rogue wave?

"No," Sokka stated calmly as returned his gaze back to the moon. Zuko glared at Sokka for his careless remark, until he noticed the hint of a smile forming upon Sokka's lips. "Well, she won't with the way you're handling the situation. The answer is simple." Sokka paused for a dramatic effect, while Zuko tried to hold onto the remains of his patience. It seemed that the water tribe siblings had been born into this world to test the control Zuko held over his emotions.

"You're thinking too much like a firebender, which I suppose you can't be blamed for. You're too direct in your thinking." Sokka paused again and smiled at the thought that it didn't help that Katara was female. Being female and watertribe, Zuko didn't stand a chance. Water tribe woman had always been known for their stubbornness. Pushing the thoughts away, Sokka continued.

"Katara needs time and you expecting quick results won't help the situation. Give her time and she'll come around…eventually" Thinking it over, Sokka decided to give one final piece of advice and hoped that Zuko would not ask any questions. "Katara has always had a…problem with the fire nation; something happened a long time ago when they attacked our home and sometimes I think Katara blames herself. You being here might just bring up painful memories for her. Don't take it personally… just give her time."

Zuko nodded silently and left Sokka to his stargazing. Whispering a silent prayer to Yue, Sokka pushed away the painful memories and wondered when had things started to get so complicated. Something must be wrong in the world when people started coming to him for emotional advice. Chuckling softly, pure blue eyes closed tightly at the thought. He stayed that way, until he felt somebody join him. Curious, but not so much that he had to open his eyes, he waited for the person to talk or make some type of greeting. Sokka was pleasantly surprised when he felt a small strong body curl up next to him. Silently he accepted Suki's offer by carefully wrapping his arms around her and pulling her closer. No words passed between them as they took comfort in each other's warmth and silence.

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End of chapter one,

Zuko will listen to Sokka's advice for now, until things don't seem to be getting better between him and Katara. Finally, Zuko goes to Sokka and tells him about what happened in Ba Sing Sei (which actually happens in the Southern Raiders episodes). Zuko makes a choice and Katara is ready to unleash some of her anger and pain in hopes of being able to avenge her mother…and herself.

Tell me if you'd like another chapter or not, this might just be a nice oneshot. Please read and review.

Hopefully the characters didn't seem OOC.

Final note, there are connections to this story and Fatal Mercy. More connections will be made between stories if I write more chapters for either story. Thank you for your time and I hoped you enjoyed the story.


	2. Secrets

Mad Moon

This takes place during the aftermath of the Boiling Rock and before the The Southern Raiders. This is a darker look on the transitions between the episodes. WARNING- Some of the characters may seem OOC. This was just another perspective. Also possibility of spoilers for 'Fatal Mercy' (will be more if there are other chapters). Last note, I have altered the time line slightly to feet my needs, nothing too serious though.

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Memories can be haunting and Zuko makes a decision.

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"_A woman's heart is a deep ocean of secrets."

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_

The wounds that Katara mainly saw these days seemed to be burn marks. Since Aang and Zuko had been training together, they seemed to have an abundance of them. They were never too serious, merely red swollen skin that easily healed with her water. At first, it wasn't too bad. Every so often Aang or Zuko would come to her for help. There were small burns or scorch marks that she could easily treat. However, as the training continued so did the intensity of Aang and Zuko's sessions. Every day there were more burns, more spread out and deeper in the skin. Most of it she could heal or at least sooth away the pain, but it did not stop her memories. Her element could not stop her own pain as she looked after each burn they presented her.

For the majority she dealt with it the best way she knew how, by locking away her emotions. Only letting them loose with the forgiving movements and pull of her element late at night, when she trained. Then Toph started to train with Zuko and Katara found herself with another patient. More burns to heal, more memories. Every healing session she tried to find ways to avoid the flashbacks.

If the others noticed her odd behavior they did not make mention of it. If Katara seemed a little colder or distant while healing them, they did not seem concerned about it. Katara was eternally grateful for the small mercy that they did not question her while she worked, while she remembered.

Aang would come to her with an innocent smile and hands that were red and peeling. All Katara could see was her father's skin that was a mixture translucent white and angry vermillion.

Toph would come to her with blisters on her legs and jokes about Zuko's aim. Katara just stared at the freshly burned skin that seemed to raise off Aang's back.

Zuko would politely ask for help and point to an enflamed piece of skin, merely an accident caused by Aang's excitement. Katara does not see the innocent burn; she sees her beautiful mother's brutalized body.

It is easy for her to focus and fix their mistakes; it gives her hope that someday Katara will find a way to redeem herself for her failures. The memories are painful but she is able to deal with them by locking her emotions and morals away. She must think only on the burn, not the person she is healing. There is nothing but the burn. Red skin slowly melts into blisters and molting skin. Blisters and peeling skin turn into charred leathery skin.

She normally gives a small smile of approval after the healing is done and the skin is fresh and healed. They all thank her in their separate ways and go on their way. Whether it is a nod, snarky comment, or wide smile, they all show their appreciation for her skills. None ever see her frown at their healed skin; never will they know the images that haunt her sight of charred skin that can never be completely healed.

Katara had been surprised Zuko had come to her for help after her warning, but she was never one to deny healing somebody, especially if it involved a burn. She could not be as cruel as Hama.

When Aang had first received a burn from Zuko's training she was positive that Zuko had been worried. He had looked over at her constantly as she had inspected and healed Aang. Katara had simply ignored him. Training was rough and accidents happened. Even now while she trained with Aang, they would hurt each other. Never did they think anything more of it, just simply apologized and moved on.

There had been problems at first. With Aang being afraid of hurting her, they had gotten into a few disagreements about training. Finally, they came to a mutual understanding. Though young, they both realized they were training for a war. In order to help the world and to become better benders they had to train. Improving meant learning from mistakes and actually working to improve your abilities. Though Aang had finally fallen to logic he had also been swayed by Katara's healing abilities.

Katara's hand traced a scar that lay perpendicular to her collarbone with a smile on her face as she remembered the arguments they used to have. How young they had seemed then.

Katara had more than her fair share of scars. Not all things can be healed all the way, because some things just run too deep. Her scars from training with Toph, Aang, Master Pakku, and Sokka were not the ones that bothered her. In fact, they gave her fond memories of her closest friends and her mentor. The others she never spoke of, merely hoping avoidance would make them disappear.

Therefore, no, Katara was not angry at Zuko for Aang being burned. It was a part of life and once Zuko thought he was in the clear he seemed to relax… slightly. It didn't mean Katara was the nicest to Zuko; she mainly just dealt with him.

The one peculiar thing that always caught her attention was Zuko's own scar. She had seen worse, much worse, which was probably why it hadn't bothered her when she first saw it. Katara hadn't been disgusted or afraid of the burn scar; it was merely a fact about Zuko.

What had caught her attention was when she looked at the scar she didn't have any flashbacks, no glimpses of scorched wounds. All she saw was Zuko. She had been curious who he had earned his scar from. Mostly likely in some fight, but it was none of her business. The scar was merely a detail in a life of an ex-prince that she didn't want or need to be interested in.

Even now, simple things were bothering her. The sound of waves crashing seemed to echo around her when she was by herself. She could feel the blood pumping through everyone's hearts when she tried to go to sleep at night. The moisture in the air seemed to follow her around like a cloud, slowly being pulled towards her. The full moon was close and with the growth in her strength came the test of her emotions.

Her training sessions normally happened at a late hour of the night, when all the others were asleep and Katara was left with only the water and the moon. Tonight was no different. Slowly she moved through different sets of movement, merely letting all the water do all the work. Silently she lost herself to her thoughts as she tried to keep away her fears.

Though she was enjoying the familiarity of movement that came with her element there was a hint of tension in her arms. The tension came from Katara's fear of recently discovered advancements in her art, in her element. It had been one thing when blood bending had only been available to her during the full moon, but when she had done it during the wane of the moon Katara had been terrified.

Subtly she had noticed the changes. At first Katara had heard a faint pounding, confused she merely passed it off as a headache. Then there had been more than one and as time passed the number started to grow. Maybe she had gone insane or something terribly wrong had happened. The last significant thing that had happened to her had been the battle with Hama.

For the first couple of days she could find no reasonable explanation of why the battle with Hama would have affected her in any significant way. There was no full moon, so she couldn't blood bend. Hama hadn't hurt her physically. Katara had been very distraught over Hama's story and betrayal, but she did not think it would cause this random pounding in her head. The noise could be overwhelming but at night it seemed to put her to sleep.

Katara finally got her answer the day Aang and Toph were training and Toph got a cut on her arm. Toph and Aang had thought nothing of it, but Katara could not stop staring at Toph's arm. What Katara had felt the blood as it seeped out of the fresh could not be described in words. The pounding that Katara had heard was people's heart beats as they pushed oxygenated blood through their system.

Time slowed as Katara connected the pounding to the movement of the blood. With each passing beat, more blood poured out of the wound. Push and pull. Give and take. All of Katara's water bending lessons overwhelmed her senses. A knot of fear formed in her stomach and Katara was lucky enough not to lose her lunch.

There was no way she should be able to feel that power of being able to manipulate Toph's blood as easily as a pond. Hama had said only during the full moon, she couldn't be wrong.

Katara had then faced a new temptation; she had been brimming with curiosity. It had to be impossible. So fascinated with her new discovery she never noticed her hand rise towards Toph. The brief pull she had felt had stopped her before any damage could be done.

What she had almost done could have done serious damage to Toph. Katara had no idea the control she had over the blood bending. What limitations were there for this power? How much of a danger was she to her friends? What Hama had done had been completely different from this. How she had bended that night had felt completely different then what she had been feeling for the past week.

Fear had filled her at first, but she tried to overwhelm it with hope. Hope that she could do something meaning full with the advancement of her bending. So for the next few days she had tried to manipulate her new bending. When she had killed the two birds so easily the fear had roared back to life. Katara needed to see Hama.

The village that Hama was being held captive at was not far away from their resting place. The group had finally made it to the meeting spot for the army. So Katara had no fear of leaving the group behind. She had made her excuses to her friends and made her way towards the village.

Her entire trip there all she could focus on was Hama.

It had been about two weeks after Hama and nothing Katara could do would keep Hama's words at bay. The stories they had shared together, like Southern Tribe women do, had been personal. It was as if Katara had found a part of herself that she had lost when she had been a child. Katara had found someone that could understand her and share her problems with. Briefly, Hama had been like a mother she could confide in with her secrets… with her failures.

In the end, Hama became another one of her mistakes. Maybe she should have seen it by the way Hama seemed so eager to learn more about Katara or, maybe by the reaction she got when Hama had heard the story of her mother. Hama had comforted Katara but there had been something in Hama's eyes. It had been a mere thought that Katara had pushed away while reliving the loss of her mother.

Hama had explained her slavery to the fire nation to Katara. The cruelty had shocked her into a memory. The memory of her mother's death had been something she had locked away. Katara could not deal with it as well as Sokka could, but then again Sokka hadn't been there. Sokka didn't know the details; he had not seen what the Fire nation had done to their mother. Their mother's death did not hang on his head; that responsibility belonged all to Katara.

Katara was the reason their mother was murdered. Katara was the one to witness the torture their mother went through as she begged for Katara's life. Katara was the one who had run away in fear instead of trying to save her mother. Katara's abilities were what had put her entire family and clan in danger.

Hama had seen that weakness in Katara and had tried to use it her advantage. The entire time around Hama, it seemed Hama went out of her to make notice of little insecurities about the Fire Nation. Back then, Katara thought nothing of it, but now she could see that Hama had been trying to plant little seeds of doubt in her. Sure enough as Hama explained her imprisonment and Katara was forced with the visual of her mother's dead face, those seeds of doubt began to grow.

The cruelty her mother had faced made Katara bitter. Things she had tried to forgotten became sharper in her memories. When Katara had first entered her home she had noticed her mother kneeling on the ground in pain. Before young Katara could say anything, blistering warm hands had grabbed her. She had been held roughly against armor, the scorching fingers had seemed to melt through her clothes.

Her mother's desperate cry and distracted her from the pain. Wide eyes could now focus on her mother's injuries. Severe burns covered her mother's legs. Back then they had looked raw and painful; when she saw them in her memories she finally understood the real pain of the injury. If her mother had survived the raid she never would have been able to walk again.

Her mother had seemed to notice her daughter's gaze so she had shifted her legs in order to hide the destroyed skin from her innocent daughter. Her mother had begged for her life. Her mother had lied to protect her. The man had let her go but not without a final gift to remember him by. Katara had received her own scars that day when the fingers that had pushed her out of the tent had finally burned through her clothes. The pads of his fingers had left burn marks on her back.

Fear and pain had driven Katara into finding her father and brother. She had prayed to Tui and La to save her mother. She would have prayed to any god that day, as long as they would have saved her mother. Katara and her brother made it back to their home as quickly as they could; their father had already beaten them with his longer strides. When they finally caught up to him he was exiting their home with a look on his face that Katara had never seen before.

Seeing his children Hakoda had tried to save them from seeing their mother's body. He had been fast enough to catch Sokka before he got a good look at his mother. But Katara had been smaller than Sokka and had been able to dodge her father's desperate grab. The last moments that Katara had with her deceased mother would haunt her forever.

Her mother lay on her back with her arms rested on the ground bent towards her face. Beautiful hands that used to braid her hair and wipe away her tears were the color of charcoal. Her mother's chest had been covered in blood from what must have been a stab wound. Pieces of her mother's melted skin from her legs had been smeared into the snow.

Lastly on her mother's forehead a mark had been burned into the skin. The fire nation symbol had been placed their as a sign, as a warning. The label was meant to inspire fear for the power the fire nation wielded. The fire nation had done more than just kill her mother; they had made an example out of her.

As her father had dragged her sobbing body away from her mother Katara had grabbed the only thing that had been left untouched. It had been her mother's necklace.

The pain that had followed that dreadful day was destructive. Sokka never talked to anyone any more. Late at night he would sneak into her room and gently grasp Katara's hand. For the longest time Sokka had been unable to fall asleep unless he was sure that Katara was alive and okay, right next to him. Over time Sokka got better enough that he didn't have to sleep in the same bed as Katara, but he would still sneak into her room to check on her.

Her father had been a different story. He had been unwilling to look at her for the longest time. At first Katara had thought he had blamed her for the death of her mother. But Gran Gran had comforted her and soothed her worries. Gran Gran would braid her hair and tell her how beautiful she was…just like her mother. Katara was told of how much she looked like her mother that it had made it painful for Hakoda to get over his grief. Katara had believed her.

It would not be until Katara was older that she would understand the significance of the wounds placed on her mother's body. She was saved that pain until she was older and her father had decided to gather his men and leave for the war. But that was another story.

Katara had hid this secret until she had met Hama. Hama had instantly comforted the stiff teen as Katara told her secret for the first and last time. The night that had followed had broken any bond that Katara and Hama had created over the last few days.

When Katara had finally reached Hama's prison it had been late at night. Katara had snuck into the prison in order to deal with Hama herself. Hama hadn't seemed surprised by her visit, but actually giddy.

Katara had confronted Hama for the last time that night. Hama had been so proud when she realized the power that Katara held. The students had surpassed the master. Cackling Hama had tortured Katara with questions and riddles.

"_Why hasn't anyone ever mentioned this Hama? Why does no one know about this water bending ability?" For once Hama had not answered her with laughter but instead a question._

"_What did you notice in the Northern Water Tribes Katara? Was there anything that seemed out of place?" Silence filled the room as Katara was left in deep thought. Was this another one of Hama's tricks? What could the Northern tribe possible be hiding? _

"…_the women."_

The possibilities had been endless. Did blood blending already exist before Hama figured it out? Was there a more plausible reason why women in the Northern Tribes excelled at healing and why they were only allowed to heal?

From there the conversation had gotten worst. If Hama had been crazy before then what possessed her now had no human name. Her pain had turned her into a monster begging for blood, for justice. Hama made promises to Katara through the bars about what she planned to do as retribution. The pain that Hama had inflicted on the village had been child's play when compared to what she planned to do next full moon.

Katara didn't doubt Hama for a second, the memory of her experiment on the birds was still fresh in her mind. Katara had been forced into action. Katara gave Hama the mercy she deserved when she had first been captured. Katara had killed Hama as painlessly as she could.

Katara had returned to camp and tried to act normal, but killing someone for the first time always changes a person. The rush of emotions she had felt nearly crippled her, but she had to hold her head up high for the up-coming battle.

Ever since that night she hadn't been the same. The secrets just seemed to keep building and with them came the guilt and anger. Zuko was just another thing she had been forced to deal with. The full moon was a day away and the emotions she had been losing control over seemed ready to wreak havoc. Bending, training, and meditating were unable to help her suppress them. She had been afraid that nothing could help her; that nothing could save her.

Until Zuko had spoken the words her soul needed to hear. Zuko was giving her the chance to make things right.

He said to her, "I know where to find your mother's killer."

May Tui and La save anyone that stood in her way, because Katara was going to find the man that had haunted her dreams for years. Katara was going to find the man that had brutalized her mother and she was going to make him pay.

* * *

End of Chapter

Katara must now go down a dark road in order to safe herself, the question is will she be able to do it and who will get hurt along the way?

Opinions appreciated.


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